3 ms·
None of those basic norms you listed were espoused by the founders of the country. Freedom of speech, belief and equality under law for all was. (However imper
by andrewjl 9y ago
None of those basic norms you listed were espoused by the founders of the country. Freedom of speech, belief and equality under law for all was. (However imperfectly, both then and today.)
What you consider to be under attack are echoes of a traditionalist past we're trying to put behind us. And good riddance.
- TheAdamAndChe 9y agoThere's a difference between law and culture. It's legal for a man to go around and call everyone an asshole, but it's also fine for our culture to look negatively upon that person for his actions. Along the same vein, there can be legal freedoms provided to us while having cultural limitations placed on those freedoms. Social pressures are powerful and occur in every group.
- andrewjl 9y agoThe distinction is nebulous. Law is an artifact of culture, and reflects cultural attitudes towards subjects the law covers. Our culture is a culture of (espoused) equality, religious freedom, property rights, supremacy of secular institutions, and individual agency. Holidays, religious traditions, and to some extent language are artifacts of where the earliest American founders happened to be from, not bedrocks of culture nor the only foundations upon which communities can be built. Edit: The alienation you imply is happening is a direct result of our collective inability to let go of outdated traditionalism and give people space to explore who and what they truly are.